The present invention relates to a brake shoe mount for brake apparatus, and more particularly to a device for attaching a brake shoe to the forward end of the brake arm of brake apparatus for bicycles.
Brake apparatus widely used for bicycles include, for example, caliper brakes of the side-pull type, caliper brakes of the center-pull type, etc.
Such a brake apparatus comprises a center bolt fixed to the frame of the bicycle, a pair of brake arms supported by the center bolt and pivotally movable to bring their forward ends toward or away from each other, brake shoes attached to the forward ends of the arms and movable into or out of contact with a wheel rim of the bicycle when the arms are moved toward or away from each other, and a brake spring for biasing the arms away from each other.
The wheel of the bicycle is positioned between the pair of brake shoes. When the brake apparatus is actuated through a bowden wire, the pair of brake arms turns about the center bolt, pressing the brake shoes against the opposite sides of the wheel rim to brake the wheel.
The device for attaching the brake shoe to the forward end of the brake arm further includes adjusting means, whereby the brake shoe can be attached to the arm end in a vertically adjusted position. The brake shoe is in the form of a block of abrasion resistant rubber which is held by a holder having a bolt projecting therefrom. The forward end of the brake arm is formed with a vertically elongated bore. The bolt of the holder is inserted through the elongated bore, and a nut is screwed on the bolt to fasten the shoe to the brake arm. When the nut is loosened, the position of the shoe is adjustable vertically, i.e. radially of the wheel, within the range of the bore.
However, with the conventional device for attaching the brake shoe, the elongated bore at the forward end of the brake arm is left partly exposed even when the brake shoe is mounted in place, with the result that an air turbulence occurs at the exposed bored portion to act against the bicycle during running. This is a serious disadvantage in the case of racing bicycles in which the device must be lightweight and adapted to reduce the air resistance.
Futher when the bicycle is used on bad roads, mud or soil is likely to clog up the exposed bore portion, consequently making it impossible to vertically adjust the position of the brake shoe. The soil must then be scraped off for the adjustment of the brake shoe, hence cumbersome.
With bicycles which are used for racing on bad rods, for example, for cross-country, there arises a need to interchangeably use wheels of different diameters in accordance with the road conditions, but the brake shoe attaching device described is adapted for adjustment only in the range of the elongated bore, with the resulting likelihood that the shoe will not always be properly positionable for the rim of a replaced wheel.